Youngest 199
by CristaeEpisode 199
While the family rolled the mage about, making sport of him—
“They seem to be enjoying themselves. That’s a relief.”
I swept the curtain closed at the window with a brisk flick and turned away. The last thing I saw was Hazel casting a dark shadow as she approached the mage.
“Well, of course. Who wouldn’t, with such a warm welcome?”
Turning, I saw my father lounging at an angle on the sofa in my room.
“Now that Hazel’s got hold of him, things should stay quiet at least until tomorrow.”
That mage turning up at this particular time—surely, it was to ruin my coming-of-age ceremony.
‘If they expose the fact that the Zevert family’s young lady is actually a mage…’
There would be no end to the commotion.
‘And worse, if it came out that I’m the seventh child of the Mage King’s closest confidant.’
That, at least, was a secret known only to a select few. Especially now, with the Mage Kingdom a sworn enemy, it wasn’t a truth I could easily reveal.
The nobles would not stay silent.
They’d pin the blame on House Zevert for concealing it all, using it as a reason to undermine our influence—whether true or false.
‘Especially the nobles in support of the First Prince.’
After all, Zevert is clearly not aligned with the First Prince. This would be their opportunity to attack.
‘Their plan was probably to reveal the truth, wreck my coming-of-age ritual, somehow separate me from House Zevert, and then approach me personally.’
A laugh escaped me.
There was a grave flaw in the Mage King’s thinking.
‘My family wouldn’t cast me off simply because the family name was tarnished.’
Of course, the Mage King would never understand that.
‘He sees his children as nothing but tools.’
“Give me a massage!”
I squeezed my father’s shoulders firmly, again and again. Whenever a wave of affection surged up, I always felt an odd urge to poke at my father in some way.
“You showing off your strength?”
“Am I strong?”
“Very.”
He gave a short laugh and nodded at the table.
“But what are you going to do about that, then—just leave it like that?”
“Oh, right!”
I hurried over to the table. The large bowl was filled with plenty of fresh cucumber slices.
“I’d completely forgotten.”
The truth is, I had a very busy night ahead!
“As you know, I’m the star tomorrow. I need to… prepare a bit…”
Muttering to myself, I started sticking slices of fresh cucumber to my face, one by one. Ugh, so cold.
My father made a noise somewhere between a sigh and disbelief.
“I’ll finish with a milk rinse afterwards. I plan to frivolously squander some of your wealth tonight, so I beg your forgiveness in advance.”
“What do you think our household fortune is, exactly?”
I ignored him and carefully pressed another cucumber slice onto the cheek I saw in the vanity’s mirror.
“Ah, Gunda Dad. Hrmp.”
The slice slipped the moment I opened my mouth.
The tip slid right between my parted lips by accident. Crunch.
“Delicious.”
“You never fail to surprise. Come here.”
“These are cu-cumbers.”
Dad beckoned me over, and I quickly nestled in, laying my head on a cushion on his thigh.
“Just put them anywhere?”
“Yep. Cover every inch—don’t leave a spot bare…”
Mmm-hmm.
Murmuring that this was a first for him, Dad carefully started placing cucumber slices all over my face.
“Whoa, cold!”
Dad hesitated for a moment, then placed a slice on the back of his hand to take off the chill before sticking it on me.
“So why did you call me just now?”
“Oh, that. I was wondering why you keep holding on to that.”
I pointed with my eyes at the bundle next to him. He’d been playing with it for a while. It was the worn package brought by the mage.
“I wanted to check if any funny business had been done to it. Since I brought it up, what do you think?”
“No magical devices in it…”
“Is it yours?”
“Mmm.”
His fingers paused as he pressed a cucumber to my forehead, then resumed.
“Hm. You’re sure these tiny little things are yours…”
I looked up at his handsome face, illuminated by the moonlight.
“The Duke’s eyes are shining with greed. You look like a villain.”
He pinched the tip of my nose.
“You’re imagining things. But stop eating them. Are you trying to put them on your face or sneak them into your mouth?”
Truth be told, I’d been stealing the slices near my mouth with a flick of my tongue all along.
Crunch, crunch, crunch.
“Why are these so tasty? They’re just full of moisture. So refreshing.”
Oh, forget this.
I sat up, sending the cucumbers on my face tumbling down.
“If they’re good for your skin, they must be even better to eat, right?”
“That logic’s questionable, but I can’t argue with it.”
“All right, Dad! Let’s finish them off!”
I picked up the remaining slices and split them with Dad.
Crunch, crunch, crunch.
With a glass of milk emptied as well, my preparations for the coming-of-age ceremony were complete.
Leviathan stepped out of Rubian’s bedroom and made his way down the hall.
“And the mage?”
Leon, who followed, replied in his usual clipped tone.
“Hazel has taken care of him.”
Meaning he was securely locked away in some remote room under guard.
“And what of the Emperor?”
“It seems they have not yet become aware of the mages’ presence.”
The mages who had stowed away to the south had been discovered and captured by Leon before anyone else.
Since the situation was tangled up with Rubian’s biological father, Leviathan meant to proceed carefully before notifying the imperial family.
“Report to me the moment there’s any sign of movement from either side.”
“Yes. Are you heading to the bedchamber?”
“Hmm…”
Leviathan gazed out into the pitch-black night, then on a whim turned his steps elsewhere.
“There’s somewhere I need to stop. Take your leave and rest.”
Leon nodded and silently withdrew.
Step, step.
Calm footsteps led to a door deep within the ducal mansion.
He opened it to reveal a neatly kept room. It was more or less a disused storeroom—inside, the shelves were filled with baby supplies, all unused.
‘I stocked up here too when we came to the capital, just in case.’
Why had he thought of this place now?
Even he didn’t know.
‘I’ll have to clear it out one of these days…’
Things in the eastern rooms of the northern ducal castle remained untouched, thanks to Rubian’s stubbornness.
Perhaps, as Rubian said… some things in this world are better left as they are, frozen in time.
Smiling faintly, he walked across the little room to the baby crib.
Sitting on the crib was a tiny baby pillow.
“……”
He rummaged in his coat and took out the worn cloth bundle.
Inside was another baby pillow.
Set side by side, they looked so small he couldn’t help but smile.
“Even a loaf of bread comes wrapped in something bigger than this.”
On a whim, he took out all the clothes said to have been worn by Rubian, as well as the baby clothes he himself had purchased.
Suddenly—
“…These are far too new.”
His gaze drifted from the stiff, untouched garments to Rubian’s with their wrinkles and soft, worn fabric.
The passage of time lingers in things.
It was obvious which bore the breath of the living.
His heart ached with a familiar pang.
Clothes never worn, abandoned without ever meeting their owner—suddenly, he found them unbearably sad.
But strange as it was, what he held in his hands was not the new garment, but Rubian’s old clothes.
As much as he grieved for the child he lost, as much as he regretted,
‘I wonder what Rubian was like in these…’
That thought lingered.
What had Rubian been like as a baby?
How had she cried, how had she laughed?
The Rubian he never knew before she was ten.
Rubian who would have slept, woken, fussed on that pillow no bigger than his palm.
‘If only I could hold her, even once…’
Catching himself in the thought, Leviathan gave a small shake of his head.
‘What am I thinking?’
The child was already grown.
He gave a short, rueful laugh as he tidied the place.
“Apparently, I’m more regretful than I realized.”
That the child was growing.
That she was already coming of age, ready to leave his arms.
With a hint of self-mockery, Leviathan stepped from the room, as if he too remained stuck somewhere in that earlier time.